"I am very pleased to review this boxed set. It contains 13 individually wrapped cd's with liner notes in english and french and it breaks Mr. Ellington's music into 13 categories: Ballads, Blues, Composer, Dance, Friends, Jungle, Ladies, New York, Pianist, Portraits, Soloists, Swing, and Vocal. The sound quality is excellent, The cuts are choice, and I could not be happier with anything more for such a bargain price. Some things that have struck me as wonderful so far are Mood Indigo (one of my all time cherished), C Jam Blues, Blues (a solo piano piece), Daybreak Express, Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue, Black Brown and Beige (two excerpts), Creole Rhapsody, Long Long Journey (w/The Great Louie Armstrong), plenty of solos to spark conversations, many guest stars, and I have only opened about 6 cd's! If you love The music of Ellington like I do then you can listen to this set and hear the foundations of almost all of the jazz that was to follow. I have been assured by listening to this set that Edward Kennedy Ellington could be perhaps the most influential composer in the history of western music, and is sure to be remembered for centuries to come. Add 199% more class to your jazz collection today and never think twice."
A Great Ellington Collection
Homer9600 | Northeast | 06/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A novel approach to making a collection of great Ellington recordings, each of the thirteen CD's have their own theme.
The good news here is there is a lot of good music covering three decades. The source material for this collection are 78's. The quality of the 78's are excellent overall. The transfers and mastering are supurb as are many Masters of Jazz CD's. They don't overuse noise reduction and like many imported Ellington collections do.
The bad news is that the Masters of Jazz label is out of business and this collection along with other MOJ titles are now difficult to obtain. I got mine from an Amazon seller. If you love Ellington and his wonderful bands don't hesitate to get this one while you can. You will not be disappointed."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1